User blog:JohnnyOTGS/JohnnyTalk World Special~D-Day/Operation Overlord
Hello everybody and welcome to a very special edition of JohnnyTalk World. Today marks the 65th anniversary of a famous military operation that decided the outcome of World War 2, it is called.... Or how we know this operation as "D-Day". The day where Allied Forces have successfully landed a foothold in Nazi Occupied Europe which put the lid on the outcome of the European Theater of World War 2. But, how did it happen exactly. Well, this is what this special edition of JohnnyTalk World ''will try to cover. The Beginning It all began in November of 1943 as the Allies were getting a hold on the war, after the Allies liberated North Africa. The Allied leaders (US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill) along with Soviet Premier Josef Stalin met in the Iranian capital of ''Tehran as they discuss on a way for the Allies to invade Nazi occupied Europe. If the Allies land in Western Europe and with the Soviet forces still advancing in the East, this would force Nazi Germany to fight a 2-front war (something the Nazis couldn't afford at this point). The Approach will not be easy as the Nazis have a *JUMBO COLOSSAL* defense net with strong fortification. It's known to the Allies as "Hitler's Atlantic Wall" and even said by Hitler himself to be "Impenetrable". It's a defense system that consisted of a 1,700 Mile long wall with fortified areas covered by from 3,000 to 100,000 soldiers at the beachfronts. The English Channel was also contaminated with sea mines which can destroy any Allied landing craft. This operation was also dependent on the Soviets and how well they were doing in Eastern Europe. But there was something else, they also had to make sure that this operation wasn't going to easily fail as the Nazis were good at backing up their forces. So they had to come up with other ways to divert and distract the Nazis while the Allies were invading. One such operation was known as..... It was a military plan of deception. The Alies wanted to make the Nazis think that the Allies were going to invade Nazi occupied Europe by invading the Belgian town of Calais (which has the shortest route across the English Channel). An Allied force led by US General George S Patton came up with inflatable dummy tanks, planes, hangers and ships and to make the Nazi reconnaissance believe that the Allies will indeed invade Calais. With Patton leading Foritude, another Allied officer was also trying to erase any other possible errors that could lead to the failure of Operation Overlord, his name was Col. Bertram Ramsey. With the operation set, they decided on a location for the Landing zone, a beachfront in Northern France right next to the ancient town of Normandy. Waiting them is heavily fortified beachfront with approximately 10,000 Nazi soldiers armed with machine guns, hedgehogs which can destroy a landing craft as well as a heavy gun emplacement on one of the beaches called Pointe De Hoc. Omaha is the most fortified of all the Beachfronts in the area surrounding Normandy. Eberything is set, the date of the operation will begin on June 5, 1944. On the night before the landings, the Allies also bombed key areas close to Normandy to reduce the chance of a Nazi counter-attack on Normandy. US Paratroopers were also sent in behind enemy lines to help reduce that chance of a Nazi counter-attack. Even with trying to make sure this operation goes smoothly, the operation itself was no sure winner for the Allies. So, the Allies decide to go all out in this operation, hold nothing back, it's "Do or die". The leader of the operation "Dwight D. Eisenhower" (who would later become President) was prepared to take the blame for the failure of this operation. The Operation The Operation, which was delayed by bad weather. So on June 6, Operation Overlord went underway. But there was one other thing, Allies came up with yet another plan of deception: flying planes that dropped metallic Chafe into the air. Like Throwing a Ping Pong Ball to a system of Mouse Traps, this set off Radar Systems all over Nazi occupied Europe. Around 70,000 Allied Soldiers stormed the Beachfronts. Even as they were coming onto the beaches, there was a high possibility of death as the Nazis were firing their machine guns at them and Nazi short range bombers going over head. Those who did storm onto the beach, they were met with death, and it seems that death kept coming, one soldier after another. But yet, the Allies continued to storm the beaches. Very much like hitting a battering ram against a strong door: only so much force can be taken before it gives. But within 24 hours of the initial landings, all of Normandy's beaches have successfully been invaded by the Allies (though pointe De Hoc took a bit longer). It wasn't long at all before US and British radio broadcasts would cover this operation. The Allies have done what was seen as "The Impossible", they have a foothold in Nazi Europe. Now the Nazis have no choice but to fight a 2-front war against the Allies and the Soviets, which will prove to hasten the downfall of Nazi Germany. Though, it would take another 11 months and 100,000 more Allied Casualties before Nazi Germany would finally keel over and die. The Soviets would storm into Berlin and lay seige to the German capital city. Hitler would commit suicide and on May 1945, Nazi Germany would wave the white flag. Want to know about the environments of World War 2? Just click here to read about it. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis too. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out. Category:Blog posts